Truth In The Alternative

I don't know any way to start this without offending someone so I'm just gonna come out and say it...

Christianity does not hold the trademark on truth.

Although my faith is dear to me, I'm coming to realize that truth can be found in many other places than just the Christianity I subscribe to. For some this may seem like a threatening claim but please let me explain before you label me a heretic. Lately, I've been finding truth all around me and even in some of the most surprising of places.

Last month, I visited a Buddhist center as part of the comparative religions course I was in. It smelled richly of incense and the bell the Buddhist teacher rang seemed to go on forever. We practiced meditation for nearly a half hour and it seemed to quiet my busy brain. I was able to leave behind the past and future and rest completely in the moment. It was there in that present reality that I was reminded of how near and good God truly is.

Last weekend, I wrote my final paper on Islam. I had fifteen books strewn across my kitchen table as I struggled to understand the life and message of Muhammad. I learned of a Muslim's utter submission to God and their profound reverence for his power. It made me long to move away from the far too casual, buddy buddy relationship with God I take advantage of far too often.

My next door neighbors are a gay couple. They are really quite cute together. Keith is the more compassionate and joyful one where Tim has always come across to me as strong and decisive. It's inspiring to see their strengths fill each others weaknesses and their teamwork is impressive. Watching them do the simplest of tasks really brings out the love and respect they have for each other. It's made me look for ways in which my own abilities compliment my wife and to also cherish her strengths.

Like it or not, there is real, powerful, and beautiful truth all around us and as followers of Jesus we need not be threatened by or ignore these truths. Perhaps, we must even recognize and validate these truths.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."(1)

Now some take this scripture and turn it into some trump card for winning an argument and proving another wrong. Others use it in a divisive or elitist way which ends up harming the cause of Jesus more than helping. I don't believe this was Jesus' intention.

Jesus is simply pointing out that he doesn't just speak truth. He doesn't just believe in truth. Jesus is truth. He personifies truth. Truth and Jesus are the same thing. If you are honestly searching for truth in this world, then eventually you will stumble upon Jesus.

A Buddhist practiononer will quiet himself long enough to be awed and have no one to thank. A Muslim will grow tired of working for approval from a God he fears and realize his need for grace. A homosexual will love and work along side another until he discovers a longing for the Author of all relationships. All search for truth and if we look hard enough, eventually we will find Jesus.(2)

Or perhaps this is Jesus' way of finding us. He is not confined to just our churches.(3) He is working in places you'd never guess. He is inviting a very surprising list of guests. His grace extends farther than you are comfortable with. There is truth in the alternative and it ends at Jesus.

1. John 14:6

2. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD -Jeremiah 29:13

3. For you theologians out there, this is considered a Christocentric view point. I believe in the Lordship of Jesus and the Bible as authoritative. However, I do not believe the church is the only means of communicating this. To be fair, I'm probably a little more on the liberal side of this view point.